60 Days With You

"Okay, can you please explain why you have to go outside the country just for a vacation?", Marie has been asking me this since I got here and told her I was flying to London tomorrow for a week-long vacation. "Vacation is no vacation if you go to somewhere you've been before. Where's the fun in that?", I explained while cleaning my desk and shoved all my things in the bag. It's 4:30 now and I have to get home to prepare everything I need for the trip. "There are a lot of tourist spots here in the Philippines that would surely be memorable you'll bring with you to death". I stopped what I was doing when she mentioned death and looked at her. "Marie, I've been wishing to do this my whole life. You know better than anyone", I said, and then turned my back on her and continued what I was doing. "I just want to state this to let you remember that your best friend Ali would have known your wish more than anyone. And this is a betrayal to your country", I just rolled my eyes. Ali is my 8-year-old best friend. "Betrayal? I'm not gonna go there and expose some confidential information to the intelligence". I've been working as the Finance Manager for the Dia Company for years now, or 5 years, to be exact? You know my case is quite special because I graduated at the age of 17. Don't ask me, I don't know how I did. I just remember I took an acceleration exam in 2nd grade because they said my brain is ready for more advanced lessons despite my age and I did pass it, so I took the 6th grade when I was 8 years old and graduated at the same age as I was just supposed to be in the 3rd grade. When I entered junior high, I jumped to 4th year after finishing my first year, so I took my senior high studies at the age of 11 and took my senior high school and graduated at the age of 13. Then, when I started college, it was when I met Ali. He was a scholar for being the basketball captain of the team and he is a professional basketball player in London as of today. I was 16 when I graduated with a Bachelor of Economics Major in Finance, and Ali never got a chance to finish his studies because he was scouted by a basketball team. And I'm 22 years old now. And within 5 years of working, as Dia Company immediately took me in right after I graduated, I've pretty much achieved great things and earned insurance I could support myself for a lifetime. Well, except for one, and I'm achieving it tomorrow. In the first year of working, I bought my parents a house and a lot and my own house. In the second year, I bought my own house near my workplace and three cars. In the third year, I opened up two businesses, a convenience store and a bakery and a vacation house at the top of a mountain. In the fourth year, I bought a yacht floating next to the ocean. I've been raised full of zombie movies and paranormal stuff. They made me believe zombies would exist in time and were horrified by it. I want to make sure I have an escape route out of this place when the zombies walk-in for world domination. I'll just get my family and place them on the yacht with me and keep ourselves surviving until our last day with the fish as food. And this year, I was hoping to open up my own entertainment company. I know you could say that at my age, I should go roam the world, meeting people, kicking people I don't like in their asses and make-out with hot guys, but NO! I've pretty much been fooling around in my early days during primary and high school and I could say I'm done with that chapter and I need to do my part as the breadwinner of the family. To sum up, I'm 22 years old but working. I'm earning money at a young age, but I've had all the fun in life already. Plus, I have been going out of the country every year for a vacation. The elevator went open, and I walked out with Marie following me. I saw Manong Tinyo, our security guard for years, now smiling at me and I smiled back at him while walking my feet to him. "Nag-meryenda ka na po ba, Manong?" (Did you eat your afternoon snack, Manong?) "ahhh, ehhh. Kailangan ko pong magtipid kasi magbabayad na ho ako ng tuition fee ng panghuling semester ni Anna sa susunod na buwan eh" (Well, I need to save money as my daughter, Anna, is going to pay for her last semester's tuition fee next month) "Ehh, mga magkano po ba yung kakailanganin ni Anna para sa tuition fee niya?" (And how much will Anna's tuition fee cost?) Anna is Manong Tinyo's eldest daughter. She's taking up a Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management of Flight Attendance four-year course. "Malaki laki ho Ma'am. Portipayb Tawsan ho eh(Php 45, 000.00)" (It will cost a lot of money, around $900) I opened my bag and took my purse out, handing him $1,000. "Nako Ma'am! Hindi na ho! Masyado na ho kayong maraming naibibigay sa akin eh. Pati nga po sa pagpapatahi ng uniporme ni Anna at sapatos niya kayo na ho. Wag na ho Ma'am" (You don't have to do this, Ma'am. It's okay. You've given us enough already. You've even supported Anna with her uniforms and shoes. I can't accept this, Ma'am) "Sige na ho Manong. Eh wala naman ho akong paggagamitan niyan eh. Maagang pamasko ko nalang ho sa inyo" (I insist Manong. I don't have anything to use it for. Consider it as my Christmas Gift to you) He looked like he was crying with happiness from the moment I offered him it, but he just resisted at first. He was teared when he took the money and said thank you for multiple times before hugging me. This is the reason why I like helping people. They smile when you help them. It's breath taking and the warmth of their embrace is something like a warm coat and a chocolate coffee in the middle of the winter. I broke from the hug and bid him good bye. I told him I was going to London for a vacation and he just told me to be careful and to always eat well, as he's not there to deliver me food. That was the reason we were so attracted to each other. When I was a freshman here, I've been having late lunches and overtime and he'd just knock on my door with a tray of foods in my hand and food telling me, working hard is good, but being healthy is the best. He was like my Dad. I love my Dad. "All passengers boarding for London, please make your way to the 2nd gate. Flights to London will depart in t-5 minutes", said the announcer or whatever. I've been going to a different country every year but I still have no idea what they call the announcers at airports. Because I have been on 2 trips out of the country only. One, when I was 18, that's a given because I had just started earning my own money. You-have-a-call You-have-a-call "Hello?", it's Ali "Hey Ali? You not on a practice?", I meant doing his rounds at basketball. "I'm off for a water break. Are you boarding the plane now?", I could imagine he had his other hand on his waist and a towel on his shoulder while talking with me on the phone. "I actually am going to arrive in less than 5 minutes now", the other line went dead and I just smiled. Now who's in the rush doing his rounds? I got all my things and grabbed them out of the airport. Out there with cabs in lines, some are rented, some are- if you are sure lucky enough, one out there should be for you. Luckily, there was one for me and I slid through the passenger's seat. "Where are you up to?", the driver said while looking at me in the mirror. He was wearing a plain white shirt with his hands on the driving wheel. "Any car renting shop around here?", I said while checking to see my bags if they are complete. You never know if you left any baggage on the plane because I did left one on my first vacation- it was horrible. I was like roaming around the airport to look for my bag because I had no idea where it was. I caused a big commotion on the airline, lots of staff looking for my bag and I waited for damn hours to get it, which was, VERY EMBARASSING! "We luckily have three. So, you here for a vacation?", since when do British people talk too much? "UHMM Yeah for a week. Do I really blow up my cover that quick?", he just chuckled. "You were planning to rent a car. Figured out in it", oh right. You won't need to rent a car if you live around here. "I guess I'll have to learn more to blend in." "I bet you should. Old folks talk about the weather all the time. You do it in all the coats, you'll give everyone a hard time with your cover-up". Was that a tip? "The weather's perfect for fishing today", I said, trying to sound like one. "You learn quickly", he said impressively before stopping the car engine. "We are here", he said, and I looked outside. A junkshop came into my view but I wasn't really sure if it was that shop he was talking about. "The one with the Berg's?", I asked to make sure I was on the right target. "You got it right", I got the purse in my bag and handed him my fare with a little extra. "The change is for your useful tip", I told him and he never bothered to give me the change and got out to take my baggage in the trunk as I made my way inside the shop.